Debate Of The Young Sport Minds: PGA Player of the Year?

And here we go again. After our successful opening argument about who the best team in college football was, we are switching it up and heading out onto the links.

Since I won the first argument, I will get the topic started this week. I'm looking to repeat.

Same format as last week, the e-mails started on Monday, and will conclude on Wednesday. Then you guys tell us what you thought and who made the better case. Enjoy.

LUKE FLORENCE: September 15th, 3:29 PM

With the 2008 PGA season winding down, it is time to take a look at who will win the coveted PGA Tour Player of the Year.

In my mind, there are four candidates who can make a legit claim to this award. Vijay Singh - Money Leader, Fed EX Champion, Eight Top Ten Finishes (T-1st). Kenny Perry - 2nd in Regular Season Fed Ex, Three Wins, Seven Top Tens. Padraig Harrington - Won British Open and PGA Championship. However, the person I believe truly deserves this award is none other than Mr. Eldrick Woods.

Yes I know this may sound a little strange, but the stats don't lie, he should win. He was the Regular Season FedEx Points leader. He won the U.S. Open. He is second on the money list. He won four tournaments, most of anyone on tour. He had six top ten finishes, and only finished outside the top two on one occasion. And oh yeah, he did all of this while only playing in six events. Absolutely amazing.
It is well documented that Tiger did not play a single tournament after having knee surgery following his dramatic U.S. Open playoff win over Rocco Mediate. But, not a lot of people are giving him a chance to win PGA Tour Player of the Year. I just don't understand.

I'll put it this way. Had Tiger finished out the year, played in ten more events, didn't have a single top-ten finish in any one of those tournaments, he STILL would have won this award, hands down.

I know it is difficult to comprehend him winning this award despite playing just six times. But, he was so dominant in those six events, that he clearly stood out in a year where no one else really shined that brightly.

MATT BARNES: September 16th, 2:14 AM

There is no denying that Tiger Woods is amazing. No one will ever argue against that point. What he did in that U.S. Open was downright ridiculous. But the award is called PGA Tour Player of the YEAR. And that's why Vijay Singh deserves the award.

I'm not gonna act like golf is the hardest sport in the world physically but it still is tough on the body. It's a long season that stretches from the first week of January to the end of September. Not even the baseball season is that long. So to see a 45-year-old man like Vijay have the year he is having is amazing. And while Tiger is rehabbing a bum knee, Vijay is simply just showing off his strength, stamina, and skill.

So why does Vijay deserve the award? Many reasons. As Luke pointed out, he's the Fed Ex Champion ... well, that's as long as he plays in the final tournament. Yea, talk about dominating the playoffs, you know, the time when it matters and $10 million is on the line. Being the money leader isn't a big deal in my book but what is are the eight top-10 finishes he's had this season.
It started in February with a runner-up finish at Pebble Beach all the way to September when he finished off the field at the Deustche Bank. So not only has he been dominant this year, but consistent. And examine those top-10 finishes even closer and you'll see that they were all top-5 finishes. Now if that's not worthy, I don't know what is.

To say he did not shine as Luke stated in his argument is ridiculous. No one at Vijay's age has done what he has done. He's showing up young guns like Anthony Kim and Adam Scott every week. And while one can speculate all they want about how Tiger would have finished the season if healthy, it's just not fair to players like Vijay who stayed healthy, consistent, and dominant. Great six tourneys Tiger. Great YEAR Vijay.

LUKE FLORENCE: September 16th, 2:53 PM

Interesting choice by Matt, I thought he would go with Padraig Harrington and his two majors. Instead he chose Vijay Singh and then basically asked me to give him leeway because of how old he is.

Matt gives Vijay credit for playing the best when it matters the most. Let me remind everyone that Vijay did not win a single major this year. The following is how Vijay played in the four majors (when it REALLY matters the most).

Masters - T-14th
U.S. Open - T-65th
British Open - Missed Cut
PGA Championship - Missed Cut

Not exactly the most compelling statistics for Vijay.

As for Tiger, well he won the U.S. Open and finished 2nd at the Masters. I just don't see how you can give Vijay the player of the year for winning two playoff tournaments at the end of the year, and not Tiger for winning four at the beginning (including one major).
As it can not be stated enough, Tiger was the Fed Ex Regular Season Points Leader. This point total is accumulated from January all the way to the end of August. Yes, Vijay won two playoff titles this season, but he was behind Tiger in the Fed Ex standings before the playoffs started. This shows you that Tiger was SO dominant at the beginning of the season, he could not play half of the year and STILL be the points leader heading into the playoffs.

I do give Vijay credit for racking up Top Five finishes this season. As Matt and I both pointed out, he had eight. However, anyone who really follows golf knows that Vijay Singh is notorious for playing just about every tournament possible. If he could play two PGA tournaments in one weekend, he would. So, if he plays semi-decent golf in a field that may be sub-par, of course Vijay is going to pick up Top Fives.

Let's take an even closer look into Vijay's stats this season. He played in 22 events, made the cut in 17 of them, BUT, finished outside the top 25 in NINE of those tournaments. Matt said that Vijay should win player of the year because he was healthy, dominant and consistent all year long. Well Matt, you got the first one (health) right, but you mis-fired on the latter two. And those two are the most important. Advantage Tiger.

MATT BARNES: September 17th, 12:59 AM

Just like a McCain/Palin ticket, Luke has found a way to mix words.

First off, who said give Vijay leeway? No matter his age, Vijay deserves this award. His age is what makes his season that much more impressive. Your body is supposed to break down as you get older. Vijay is one of the exceptions.
And read my post again Luke. I said the playoffs matter, not matter the most. I'm not an idiot. I know the majors are big in golf but I'm not the kind of person to give the player of the year each year to one of the four major winners. Paddy Harrington had two great major tournaments, not a great year. Tiger had four wins and played in just six tournaments. But again, not a great year ... and a year is what we're talking about right?

And what does the fact that Tiger led the Fed Ex Cup points say? That the point system is dumb. I know it and you know it. It makes no sense. But what does make sense is that when Vijay is playing in tournaments with the best golfers in the world on some of the best courses, he shines.

Besides the majors, Vijay was again dominant and consistent against the best of the best. A second at Pebble Beach. A second at the World Golf Championship at Doral. A third at Bay Hill. A top-5 in the Match Play championship and when the season is winding down and fatigue should be setting in, he wins 3-of-4 tournaments, including a WGC and two Fed Ex Cup playoff events.

Vijay is notorious for playing in a lot of events. That's not the case this year. His 22 events is right on par with every golfer on the PGA Tour so kill that pathetic point. And in case you didn't pick up the point from the last paragraph, his top-5 finishes come against the best fields. And again, what is the name of the award? Player of the YEAR.

I know it's hard for a Tiger fan like you to dream of anyone else taking the trophy away but wake up Luke. He doesn't deserve an award that recognizes a great year of play when you only play in six tournaments. Again, we all know he is the best player in the world. We all know he had the potential to have a good year but he DID NOT. The best player of the YEAR is Vijay.

LUKE FLORENCE: September 17th, 4:32 PM

Anyone else notice a harsher tone in Matt's last e-mail? He references me to John McCain and then tells me to wake up because Tiger Woods did not have a good year.

Sounds like he is getting frustrated, which I don't doubt and completely understand. See, Matt trying to argue that Vijay Singh should win player of the year is in fact, an argument against history. And that can be frustrating.

Before we go down that road, let's take a look at some of those tournaments Matt gives Vijay credit for ALMOST winning. Vijay had a third at Bay Hill. Well, Tiger WON that one, as he sank a 25-foot-putt on the final hole to beat Bart Bryant by one stroke (shown below). Vijay had a top-five at the Accenture Match Play Challenge. Well, guess what, Tiger WON that one too. In fact, Vijay didn't register his first win until the beginning of August at the WGC @ Bridgestone. I fail to see how that is being dominant for an entire year like Matt claims.

And pity on Matt for saying Tiger did not have a great year, which is really a shame. For Tiger Woods, 2008 was not his greatest season. He only had four wins, including one major. He has raised the bar so high in the past that people do not recognize when he actually had a great year compared to everyone else. Instead, they compare his numbers with his past seasons. So again, Matt is right, Tiger did not have a great year compared with his others, BUT, he did have a great year when compared to other PLAYERS.

Now, Matt must not have done his research on who has won this award, because he claims he doesn't base player of the year on his performance in the four majors. Uh oh. Because the people who give out the award actually do. I know it's a crazy idea, because they are only the most important tournaments out of the entire season.

Dating all the way back to 1994, only TWICE has the winner of this award NOT won a major. Tiger Woods pulled it off in 2003 when he led the tour in wins (5). The other was Greg Norman in 1995, but he had two top-three finishes in majors. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1990 (the first year they began voting) to find a winner who did not register at least one top ten in a major (Vijay's best finish in a major - T14th @ Masters). That man, was Wayne Levi. So for Vijay to win, he's going to have to pull off another Wayne Levi (who actually won four times, one more than Vijay this year).

Tiger has the better numbers, the better case and history on his side. I like Tiger's chances and I like mine repeating in these debates, thank you very much.

MATT BARNES: September 17th 6:07 PM

I agree that 2008 was not Tiger's greatest season. I mean, he didn't even play after mid-June. His half-season of six tourneys was good but what are we arguing again ... oh player of the year. Man, feel like you keep forgetting that Luke.

I know Ricky Bobby coined the phrase that "if you ain't first, you're last" but we all know how bad of a movie that was and how dumb of a quote that is. Vijay's performances in the tournaments in which he got a top-5 finish show consistency in playing well in tournaments with good fields. And with eight of them, I'd say that's pretty good and deserving of this yearly honor. Not to mention, it tops all players including Tiger Woods.
Compared to other players, Tiger did have a good half-season. You could even counter that Vijay had just as good of a second half. But since we are talking about player of the year, I'm still going with Vijay. Dominant down the stretch when $10 million is on the line and the best of the best are playing in every tournament. And you know they are playing as hard as they can cause $10 million isn't exactly chump change.

And while I appreciate your history lesson of the award, it is irrelevant to our debate. The topic we are debating who should be the Player Of The Year, not who WILL be. You and I both probably agree that Padraig Harrington will win the award because the voters are major-happy but look at the whole package and it's easy to see Vijay deserves this award for his play throughout the entire PGA season. So take history off Tiger's side.

In the end, you're arguing like a Tiger fan and not as someone who actually appreciates the award. The award should go to someone who has had great achievements throughout the golf season. A player that is a favorite no matter the tournament he entered. A player who won more than one tournament and in tourneys with some of the better fields. I read all that and I can think of one player that exhibited that from February to what will be the Tour Championship next weekend in the ATL. And that's Vijay Singh. Nice try Luke. Thanks for playing.

THE END ... LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK